Tulsa, OK (May 23, 2012)—KOTV and KQCW in Oklahoma recently opened a new broadcast facility that relies on an SSL C10 HD compact broadcast console to handle audio for news, weather and specialty programming.

The Tulsa, OK-based production facility houses both stations, owned by Griffin Communications as CBS and CW affiliate stations respectively, and also has dedicated fiber lines between it and sister station KWTV in Oklahoma City to streamline production resources for statewide news coverage.

"For our new production facility, we wanted a console that was very capable, but was also cost-effective and backed by a manufacturer with a solid reputation and years of broadcast experience. That led us to the C10," says John Quesnel, director of production for KOTV and KQCW.

The new 57,000-sq.-ft. production facility has one large 5,525-sq.-ft. studio with associated production and audio control rooms. The expansive news set in the studio is broken down into subsets to accommodate different programming needs. For example, one of the largest subsets is for weather forecasting. Additionally, the studio features a large news anchor area, three smaller news presentations sets, an interview set and specialty sets for entertainment presentations or commercial production. The C10 is used to produce over seven hours of news and specialty programming per day.

"We use the one-touch setup recall on the C10 to streamline our workflow through the different news and non-newscast programs we produce," continues Quesnel. "Because we are located in 'Tornado Alley,' weather is a very important element for us, so that particular area of the set is very large and comprehensive. We have a standard microphone setup for the area that we can easily call up for breaking emergency weather coverage. Beyond news programming, we also have a full kitchen set for cooking segments and a stage set for presentations ranging from live music and fashion to the DIY hardware guy. The C10 has been an excellent choice to handle audio for this type of multitasking facility."